Murdoch promises double-digit growth

MEDIA magnate Rupert Murdoch cannot see any pick-up in the global advertising market. Murdoch said there had been a solid improvement in US television advertising income in the first few months of this year but the outlook was now impossible to forecast.

Last year he said the slide in the global advertising revenues was the most vicious he had experienced. Today he ruled out more major purchases for News Corp, but told shareholders in Adelaide the group would still deliver double-digit income growth in this financial year and that its advertising revenues were well ahead on last year.

Murdoch said he did not expect to have to make any more write-downs after writing off a mammoth US$6.9bn (£4.4bn) this year.

News Corp owns 36% of BSkyB and controls News International, publisher of The Sun and The Times newspapers.

Corporate governance issues were also prominent at the meeting, with former News Corp journalist Stephen Mayne narrowly losing a bid among voters on the floor to join the News board.

Mayne, who campaigned on a platform of improving corporate governance and auditing practices, was outvoted by 86 votes to 79 at the meeting but 1.1bn proxy votes held by Murdoch ensured his bid ended in a heavy defeat.

'He (Murdoch) knew that he had all the proxies in his back pocket and there was no way he was going to let me on the board,' Mayne said.

Complying with new US corporate governance laws meant Stanley Shuman, who has chaired the audit committee for many years, will have to step aside because he is not considered independent enough.